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Robert Redford: Environmental Policy At Stake In Election

25 Oct 2012 |
Soham Pandit

While accepting the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Lifetime Achievement Award last night in New York, environmentalist and actor Robert Redford spoke about what’s at stake for the environment in this year’s election. For more than twenty years, Redford has worked with LCV to pass laws that protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, hold our elected officials accountable, and elect environmental champions.

Speaking to the current political season Redford said, “How can we have a man running for the office of the president of the United States – in this great democracy – denying global climate change and endorsing oil subsidies? You really wonder what kind of world and what kind of a time is this man living in? A man who can seem so oblivious to changing times – and these are changing times. The planet is changing and humans have to change.”

He closed his remarks looking to the power of the youth of the nation saying, "There’s not a lot that we can really be proud of in terms of what my generation has done to the planet, no matter how hard some of us have tried. But there’s a reason to be optimistic and I think it’s about youth. I honestly believe that this is a bright spot in our future – the youth of today. I would love to see all of us, and the League of Conservation Voters, focus on the youth. Talk to them. Inspire them. Bring them in. It’s their world they’re going to be stepping into. Give them the reins – I think they’re qualified to handle it – but bring them in. Get them involved. Because they might be the best new asset we can get.”